‘Russian Unity’ leader unanimously elected head of Crimean Republic

The Crimean regional legislature has unanimously approved Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov as the republic’s new leader.

Aksyonov’s candidacy was supported by all 75 deputies in the
regional legislature. His two opponents were the regional
minister for ecology and natural resources, and a member of the
federal parliament representing the center-left Fair Russia
party.

He already has experience of running the region as he became
acting head of the republic right after its accession into the
Russian Federation in April this year. He is also the Crimean
prime minister and will continue to occupy this post after
becoming the head of the regional executive.

Previously he worked as a lawmaker in the regional parliament
after being elected there in 2010 on the “Russian Unity” public
movement ticket that defended the interests of ethnic Russians in
Ukraine.

Aksyonov was sworn in as the new Crimean leader right after the
result of the parliamentary vote was announced.

The new leader of the republic will face several major challenges
including water and energy supplies, accessibility, and balancing
the budget. All are caused by Crimea’s unique geographical
position, as well as the continuing political conflict due to its
secession from Ukraine. So far, Crimean authorities are
optimistic about the republic’s future, saying that it is capable
of providing enough natural gas and fresh water for it needs. The
federal center is helping with solving the other two problems –
Moscow promised to provide a bridge that would connect the
Russian mainland with the peninsula, and 95 percent of the
Crimean budget will come as federal aid.

Also on Thursday the Sevastopol legislative assembly elected
Sergey Menyailo as city governor. Menyailo represents Russian
parliamentary majority party United Russia and took part in the
latest legislative elections in Sevastopol but was removed from
the deputies’ list to take part in the gubernatorial poll.
Previously he was in the Russian Navy and was deputy commander of
the Black Sea Fleet. After retiring from the Navy in 2011 he
managed the state-owned Crimean Sea Ports corporation. In April
this year Menyailo became acting governor of Sevastopol.

Sevastopol is Crimea’s largest city. It is home to the main base
of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and has ports and shipbuilding
enterprises. It is also a separate Federal Region within the
Russian Federation which means that it has its own legislative
bodies and executive, and two senators represent the city in the
Upper House of the Russian parliament.

The elections of the heads of Crimea and Sevastopol were held
after the people of the republic elected a new parliament, called
the State Council, on the all-Russian elections day of September
13. A total of 803 candidates and 12 parties had run in polls at
all levels in the republic. During the elections ballots were
offered in three languages – Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean
Tatar, and voters were identified by their Russian and Ukrainian
IDs, as well as old IDs issued in the USSR.